UChicago Baseball Sweeps Violets in Saturday Doubleheader to Clinch At Least a Share of UAA TItle
The University of Chicago baseball team swept the New York University Violets in a Saturday doubleheader for the second day of the UAA series. The Maroons dominated in game one but had to use a strong final pitching effort to hold on for the win in game two.
Game 1: UChicago 8, NYU 4
The Maroons opened up the day with a strong showing to take their second win of the series 8-4.
Nathan Bae opened the scoring for UChicago with an RBI single in his first at-bat of the day, bringing home Michael Gladden. After the end of the first inning, UChicago held a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the third, the Maroons added two more runs as Erik Rindner slammed a two-RBI double to left center field to make it a 3-1 ball game.
Both teams remained scoreless in the next couple of innings. In the top of the sixth, NYU tied it up at three on a two-RBI double. The Maroons' defense held strong, facing only four Violet batters and regaining the lead in the seventh inning.
A Braden Jirovec RBI single put UChicago back on top, 4-2, in the bottom of the seventh. The Maroons' offense was far from over as Gladden then smashed a two-RBI double down the right field line to bring home Jirovec and Luke Weston. With a 1-0 count, Nathan Bae reached on a fielder's choice, advancing Ridner home. Heading into the top of the eighth, UChicago held a 7-3 lead.
Mike Sosna came in to pitch in the top of the eighth, faced three batters, and pitched only four strikes.
The Maroons added another run in the bottom of the eighth as Harrison Belden scored off a Max Wiesner sacrifice fly to make it an 8-3 game. NYU responded in the top of the ninth, but the single run wasn't enough to match the Maroons.
Grant Tenuta earned the win for the Maroons as David Flanagan earned his second save of the year.
Game 2: UChicago 13, NYU 10
In the second game of the day, both the Maroons and the Violets' offenses exploded. After a late come-from-behind attempt from NYU, UChicago managed to hold on for the 13-10 win to complete the doubleheader sweep.
Jack Sharp opened the game for the Maroons, scoring on an error by the Violets' third baseman in the bottom of the fourth, but it wasn't until the fifth that UChicago truly came alive.
Max Wiesner singled to right field to bring home Michael Gladden and begin the scoring run for UChicago. The Maroons went on to score nine runs in the inning after RBI doubles from Sharp and Braden Jirovec, a sacrifice fly from Erik Rindner, and a home run from Harrison Belden.
NYU scored its first run of the game in the top of the sixth, but the Maroons quickly responded, adding on to their run count to make it a 12-1 ballgame heading into the top of the seventh.
Just as UChicago was about to run away with it, the Violets came roaring back, scoring nine runs in the top of the seventh to cut the Maroons' deficit to two.
In the bottom of the seventh, Ryan Bhojwani closed out the scoring as he ripped a double to right field, bringing home Nathan Bae and giving the Maroons a three-run lead.
In the final two innings, Grant Tenuta and David Flanagan faced a total of seven batters, recorded four strikeouts, and held the Violets scoreless to secure the doubleheader sweep.
In 5.1 innings of work, Preston Benner earned the win, allowing three hits on 17 batters faced and recording four strikeouts. Flanagan earned the save for his third of the season and second of the day.
With the wins, the Maroons move to 22-13 on the season and 14-5 in conference. They still hold a 1.5-game lead over WashU in conference standings.